Barkley Hendricks was born in Philadelphia in 1945 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Yale. His work deals with contemporary black life and culture. He combines realism, Pop and abstraction to create a thoroughly modern, yet simultaneously timeless, style. But Hendricks does not simply illustrate his subjects. These life-sized figures facilitate a confrontation between the viewer and the painting. He portrays unique individuals that, through their poses and clothing, assert their style, individuality and self-awareness.

Estelle Johnson, a South Carolina native, was a student at Connecticut College, where Hendricks taught.